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Swelling from being in Heat

How do I word this?..... I have a 6.5 month old that went into season a week before her spay date. It's been a couple of weeks now and her poor little bottom looks sooooo swollen and a bit red. She sometimes yelps when I gently dab her off to catch the spotting. Other than that she seems happy and healthy and tries relentlessly to romance Wally, our boy cat.

For those experienced with a dog in heat, does this amount of swelling sound normal? When will her bottom return to normal? ..it's been a few weeks already.

Also, my vet told me to wait 2 weeks after she stops spotting any sort of discharge (blood or otherwise). When will I know that her time is completely over?

Hali has been in two heats and she is really swollen for about 3 weeks. She is not red though? and has no problems when I clean her daily with a dog wipe to keep her smelling fresh. She is very clingy to me during this time, probably has cramps like we do? I keep doggy pants on her during the heaviest week when she is out of her crate and take it off when she goes to sleep in her crate. Deb

swelling

Swelling is totally normal, depending on the dog it can take a good while to go back to it's original size. Their bits can be very sensitive when they're in heat so she probably just has a bit of discomfort when you touch her.

If I'm getting a bitch spayed after they have been in heat, I wait at least 4 weeks after they have stopped bleeding (to let everything return to normal and just to make sure )

Did the vet advise waiting? Seven months would have been late to have a bitch spayed to be sure to avoid first heat so it isn't surprising that she has started -- first heat is on average between 7-9 months. Six months would have been the usual time to avoid a first heat though even then a rare few do go into heat by then, too (we've had a few here at 5.5 to 6 months so you never know! ).Swelling is normal -- that is one sign she is indeed in heat. I just asked a cavalier breeder who says your bitch will NOT be safe to go outside or be in the presence of any intact male until 28 days after the first day of bleeding.

A bitch should then not be spayed til three months after the end of her heat -- she should be in between cycles so that she is much back to a neutral state as possible. There's always a slightly higher risk to spay before then as internal organs can be swollen.

Just be sure she is inside during the entire stretch of being in heat.

I was very surprised when Pixie went into heat at just under 5 months old. I wasn't ready for that at all! We put her in one of those velcro doggie pants that you put a feminine napkin in and it worked great. The disposable diaper type pants kept slipping off her rear.

Did the vet advise waiting? Seven months would have been late to have a bitch spayed to be sure to avoid first heat so it isn't surprising that she has started -- first heat is on average between 7-9 months. Six months would have been the usual time to avoid a first heat though even then a rare few do go into heat by then, too (we've had a few here at 5.5 to 6 months so you never know! ).

No, the vet did not advise waiting. They told me 6 months and that on the average the Cavalier breed was later going into their first heat. I wanted to have her done on a Friday so that I could be with her for the weekend and it just turned out that with Thanksgiving on the weekend I should have had her done I pushed it out a week longer and ..bingo! I feel badly as I've read here that their chances of getting certain types of cancer increases if they've had a chance to go into season.

In terms of swelling, her little nipples are swollen as well ...? Is this normal?

But my vet told us that a female should be spayed right in between heat cycles. So that would be 3 months after her heat started, I believe. If she is spayed too soon after heat, her hormones may cause her to have false pregnancy issues.